Do you have one of those friends who always has a tidy home? 
The kitchen counter is uncluttered. Where do you put all the homework, bills, and stuff you don’t know what to do with but feel you can’t throw out yet? You can actually see the surface of the coffee table. 

You walk in the bathroom, and the vanity isn’t covered with soaps, brushes, toothbrushes, hair products, and make-up. No. There’s a small vase of flowers and a basket of perfectly folded hand towels. I have one of those friends. And as much as I want to say she has plenty of free time to clean or doesn’t have kids who make messes, neither is true. I asked her one day how she managed to keep her home looking great. “Ah,” she said, “welcome to the joy of living a decluttered life.” 

She then took me on a tour of her stash panache. She opened kitchen drawers and I saw dividers that kept everything in its place. She showed me where she kept her table linens, and told me the secret is to keep only complete sets of placemats and napkins, and you really don’t need ten dish towels and seven potholders. “You only have two hands!” she explained. She had rid her kitchen of useless gadgets, miscellaneous silverware that wasn’t part of her everyday set, chipped and cracked glassware and dishes. She placed anything she didn’t use at least once a week in her “Occasional” drawer—things that she rarely used but wanted to be able to find easily when the occasion arose. Then I followed her to the bedroom. She put her hands on the closet door handle and said, “Wait for it.” I assumed her closet was like mine and expected an avalanche of things she had stuffed in there. Surprise. It was one of the picture-perfect closets you see in a magazine. Her clothes were neatly hung, separated by pants, dresses, tops, skirts, and jackets. She had neatly folded shirts and sweaters on racks, and shoes organized in a cubby. I was in awe. “It’s like they tell you. If you haven’t worn it in six months, you’re not going to. I donated three bags of clothing, accessories, and shoes to the women’s shelter.” I asked her where she hid all the kids’ toys. She showed me roll-away baskets and bins, and told me her children tidied up every night before bedtime (or in the event of a pending visitor). 

I went home that day and felt overwhelmed by the task of de-cluttering my home. I decided to do it one room at a time. I confess it took me several days (okay, a week) of an hour here and an hour there, but when I was done, it was blissful. I walk through my house without tripping over toys or feeling the need to pick up magazines and newspapers. I feel a sense of pride when I open my closet and don’t see clothing crammed in so tightly that I need a crowbar to remove them. I can find both shoes in a pair without digging through piles of them. My husband is impressed, and we’ve all committed to sticking to a tidier lifestyle, without clutter. This is the joy of living a de-cluttered life. And it feels really great!    

If you decide to de-clutter your life and do not want to throw away those precious belongings think about self-storage. Woods Self Storage is a brand new facility in Yukon, Oklahoma with many unit sizes available. They provide climate-controlled and non-climate-controlled units, have 24/7 gate access and multiple cameras on the premises. Unlike many other self-storage facilities, they do not require credit cards, purchase of insurance or purchase of a lock. Contracts are on a month-to-month basis, the administration fee is only $10 and there is only a 7-day move-out notice required.   

Woods Self Storage 2409 N Sara Road Yukon, OK 405-494-7492